A Taste of Chicago:
Eating My Way through the 17th LLLI Conference
Kathy Grossman
Sandy UT USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 37 No. 5, October-November 2001, p. 104
From the topics du jour at
the World Assembly's "World Cafe" to the last bite of that silky centerpiece
cheesecake at Tuesday night's gala banquet, I ate my way through the
gastronomic and educational offerings at the 17th La Leche League International
Conference in Chicago.
Breakfasts of bagels and
pulpy, hand-squeezed orange juice at the hotel's cafe, "The Pavilion,"
set the stage for many fresh and satisfying meals to come. We weren't
all meat eaters. We weren't all vegans. Tastes varied, appetites were
different, cultural preferences were evident. There were foil-wrapped
Kosher offerings, baked fish in sauces, grilled ribeye steak, and vegetarian
medley plates. There was plenty of food; some scraped their plates clean
while others left certain foods carefully pushed to the side. After
spooning the vinaigrette over fresh greens and sliced onions at the
LLLI Alumnae Association's tea with its fabulous table settings, I nibbled
my chocolate chip and walnut scones slathered with clotted cream accompanied
by finger sandwiches, watermelon wedges, cheese, and glazed walnuts.
The lovely fashions modeled by Leaders and their children were a feast
for the eyes as well.
US Surgeon General Dr. David
Satcher's talk was the second course after the pineapple, cantaloupe,
and watermelon salad served with buttered rolls and crackers. As he
brushed by our table on his way out, I dug into my spinach noodles with
sauce, mushroom-tomato-green pepper kebob, and then heavenly rich forkfuls
of chocolate cake with a strawberry set in a cream medallion. It was
nourishment for my later meanderings among the astonishing poster presentations
and the bookstore aisles.
Each night, after hours of
hard listening and note-taking at breastfeeding and parenting sessions,
I also worked my way through the dessert list at Kitty O'Shea's "Irish
entertainment tavern" inside the hotel. My pie, ice cream, cake,
and bread pudding, however, were just sweet side dishes to the hearty
conversations with cherished friends between the sets of live Irish
music. From the person who sliced the lemons for our water glasses to
the pastry chef squeezing whipped cream onto the plates to anchor our
strawberry halves, many hands made the Conference a delicious experience.
And to all the cooks and speakers who stirred the minds, souls, and
appetites of us attendees, I say, thank you!
Coming to Chicago with a
hunger for friends, encouragement, appreciation, and information, I
got healthy portions of all of them. It will take many months to digest
the banquet of varied offerings of this Conference, but I will also
be working at clearing my palate the next couple of years until the
next time we all break bread together again. I'm already looking forward
to tearing into a wonderful loaf of San Francisco sourdough!
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:34 UTC 2007.
